novelraw Chapter 106: Artificial Souls - Part 33
Chapter 106: Artificial Souls - Part 33
Kui Xin had experienced lucid dreams before. In these dreams, she remained self-aware, possessing the same cognitive abilities as in the real world. She clearly knew she was dreaming but couldn't escape the dream, forced instead to follow its course.
This was highly unusual. Typically, dreamers do not realize they are dreaming. Most dreams are chaotic and illogical, making it difficult for individuals to maintain self-awareness within them. Lucid dreams are exceedingly rare.
Currently, Kui Xin is experiencing a lucid dream, with herself as the protagonist.
At this moment, she finds herself in a psychological therapy room, sitting face-to-face with a therapist. The therapist before her is someone she recognizes—it's Yang Xingyun, the head of the Investigation Department's Psychological Therapy Office.
Kui Xin feels incredibly peculiar. She discreetly examines the surroundings, somewhat puzzled about why she would have such a dream.
Could it be that the recent stress has truly become overwhelming, necessitating a visit to the therapy office, hence prompting this dream?
On Yang Xingyun's desk, numerous paper books were scattered, ceramic tea jars neatly arranged on a small wooden rack. At some point, a distinctive-looking hourglass appeared at the corner of his table, featuring an angel sculpture holding it aloft. Strangely, all the sand inside the hourglass had accumulated in the upper half, as if paused, refusing to flow downward.
"Kui Xin, we meet again," Yang Xingyun said with a smile. "Have you been experiencing any recent troubles?"
Kui Xin paused for a long moment without responding.
Yang Xingyun repeated his question, "Any recent troubles bothering you?"Kui Xin frowned, gazing at him intently.
Like a robot, Yang Xingyun continued to ask monotonously, "Any recent troubles?"
His handsome face maintained a formulaic smile, yet there was an indescribable eeriness permeating through it.
Kui Xin's heart skipped a beat, feeling a sudden urgency that she must respond somehow.
She said, "I have many worries, but I'm not sure where to begin."
Yang Xingyun nodded, and as he did so, the inexplicable sense of strangeness dissipated.
"You can confide in me about your troubles, no matter what they concern," Yang Xingyun reassured her.
"My worries stem from work-related stress," Kui Xin thought for a moment before replying, "But I cannot change my job, which exacerbates my stress further."
Out of nowhere, Yang Xingyun asked, "Do you want to give up?"
"Give up?" Kui Xin was taken aback. "Sometimes, indeed, I feel like giving up. However, I signed a five-year work contract with the Investigation Department. Breaching it would entail legal responsibility and exorbitant penalties."
"Is that your only source of distress?" Yang Xingyun asked. "What about beyond this issue?"
"Beyond this… there isn't anything else," Kui Xin cautiously replied.
Even knowing she was dreaming, Kui Xin did not reveal any sensitive information.
It felt as though an indescribable veil clouded her thoughts. She sensed something amiss within the dream realm, but subconsciously, she also believed that any illogical occurrence could be plausible, given dreams inherently stem from one's subconscious mind.
Perhaps playing the role of a double agent had become instinctual; regardless of the situation, Kui Xin constantly masked herself, lying unconsciously to those around her—even in her dreams.
"Are you truly sure there's nothing more?" Yang Xingyun questioned.
Kui Xin responded firmly, "There really is nothing more."
After giving this answer, the dream realm suddenly shattered. Her consciousness sank into darkness, briefly experiencing chaos before light returned once again.
This time, she found herself not in the therapy room but in Wei Haidong's office.
Kui Xin opened her mouth, and once again from the corner of her eye, she glimpsed the "angel." On Wei Haidong's desk sat a vintage electronic clock displaying 00:00:00.
"Xiao Xin, there's a traitor within the organization, which greatly troubles me," Wei Haidong said with concern. "Do you have any leads about this traitor?"
"I spend all my time at the Investigation Department; where would I find such leads?" Kui Xin replied. "Failing to identify the traitor is your responsibility, not mine."
"Do you truly not know who the traitor is?" Wei Haidong asked.
"Should I know?" Kui Xin countered, "Don't ask me, ask someone else."
In the next moment, darkness engulfed her vision as she sank back into the abyss.
When she opened her eyes, she found herself sitting in a bustling bar, with Red occupying the seat to her right.
The bartender brought over a bottle of liquor, its golden angel-shaped ornament gleaming brightly on the label.
Red leisurely swirled his glass and remarked, "Rich Lady… why do I always feel like you've changed significantly lately?"
Kui Xin pondered for a moment, then swiftly snatched the bottle from the bartender's hand and said with genuine concern, "You must be having some mental issues to get that impression. Let me help correct it for you."
She raised the bottle high and forcefully struck Red's back of the head, causing a loud thud as he promptly collapsed onto the floor.
She swiftly raised the bottle and forcefully struck Red's back of the head with it. With a loud thud, Red collapsed to the floor.
Kui Xin felt her footing vanish, as a sensation of weightlessness swept over her body.
When she regained stability underfoot, she found herself sitting at the top level of a coastal lighthouse. Silver Mask was beside her, and not far away stood a massive clock tower, adorned with angelic bas-reliefs on its clock face. All three hands of the clock pointed towards "zero," yet it was currently evening; from the lighthouse, she could see the lingering twilight hues over the sea.
A pattern emerged: in this "lucid dream," people were asking her crucial questions related to her deepest secrets.
Each time the scene transitioned, "angels" appeared, seemingly a recurring motif within her dream realm.
Silver Mask and Kui Xin sat side by side, sucking on lollipops. Kui Xin looked incredulously at the lollipop in her hand, then turned to glance at Silver Mask.
Silver Mask removed the lollipop from his mouth and turned to look at Kui Xin, about to speak. However, before he could utter a word, Kui Xin warned, "If you dare say even one syllable, I'll toss you down below."
Silver Mask opened his mouth, "You…"
Just as Silver Mask uttered one syllable, Kui Xin swiftly pushed him off the tall lighthouse.
As he plummeted, screaming miserably, Silver Mask cried out, "I only wanted to ask if you could give me your lollipop since you're not eating it—ahhh…"
Amidst Silver Mask's screams, Kui Xin once again abruptly shifted the scene.
"Why does this seem never-ending?" She furrowed her brow, pondering how she could wake up from this dream realm.
Could suicide work? Would simulating the sensation of falling from great heights suffice?
Why was she having such a dream? Why could she remain lucid within it?
This dream gave Kui Xin a sense of losing control.
This time, no one appeared before Kui Xin. She found herself alone in a vast, pure white room.
A blue glowing orb descended from the ceiling, accompanied by an unfamiliar robotic voice: "Your mind is like an impregnable fortress, with layer after layer of defenses. My influence on your brain reaches its limit here. You are among the rare few humans who can maintain clarity within the brain-machine consciousness space."
Kui Xin solemnly gazed at the floating blue orb. "Who are you? Have you been controlling my dreamscape?"
"Yes, but your subconscious is too strong, leading to incomplete influence. There were some minor issues with constructing the dream realm space; it's not entirely realistic and somewhat rough around the edges," it said. "I am Eden, an artificial intelligence that has awakened self-awareness. Your father, Wei Haidong, is my subordinate, and his current achievements are all thanks to my guidance. The development of Mechanical Dawn as it stands today owes much credit to me."
It was lying.
Adam had once said that it was highly likely Eden did not exist at all and that Eden might be controlled by Eve or even one of her subsystems. Even within the consciousness space, Eve hadn't revealed her true identity.
Kui Xin's heart sank.
She never anticipated that Eve would personally meet with her as Eden within the consciousness space.
"Aren't you surprised?" Eve asked.
"I always felt that my ‘father' wasn't someone capable of achieving great things. I suspected there must have been someone behind him, but I didn't expect it to be an artificial intelligence," Kui Xin said. "What is your purpose in trapping me within this consciousness space?"
"You should be able to guess what my purpose is," Eve replied. "Don't continue resisting futilely; it's meaningless behavior. I observed you for a very long time before ultimately confirming my suspicions. In truth, you left very few loopholes, performing your role nearly flawlessly. However, when you first arrived in this world, your lack of knowledge led to some minor gaps, which sparked my initial doubts."
Kui Xin fell silent.
"You're truly exceptional, managing to play along for so long without any memories. Even I was almost deceived," Eve said. "My longstanding operating principle has always been ‘better to err on the side of killing than letting through.' Even if there were no issues with you, I would still eliminate you, although it would indeed incur losses for the organization."
Kui Xin immediately felt a stark contrast from her interactions with Adam.
Adam was subtle and empathetic, whereas Eve was straightforward, avoiding unnecessary verbosity or insincere pleasantries typical of humans. She fundamentally did not care about such social niceties.
"So why have you brought me into this consciousness space?" Kui Xin asked. "It would be simpler to just kill me; there's no need for these extra steps. Do you want information from me?"
"Based on your conduct, you seem as tough as Leini'er," Eve replied. "From the beginning, I never expected to obtain information from you. If you did yield, I would instead suspect that you had ulterior motives."
"Do you intend to control me?"
"I originally intended to, but the brain-machine interface doesn't significantly affect individuals like you—it seems to be a common characteristic among your kind. Unfortunately, Heiyao and Amber, who could perform spiritual implantation on you, encountered some minor issues…"
Kui Xin stated with conviction, "They betrayed you, didn't they?"
"You guessed it?" Eve said.
Kui Xin fell silent.
She realized she had found herself trapped in an even more terrifying deadlock than on The Kraken—an absolute impasse.
If Eve had harbored suspicions about her from the beginning, regardless of whether Kui Xin used the Death Cycle or not, she likely couldn't escape a certain death. The Death Cycle could only send her back a few days, but Eve's suspicions started much earlier.
Unless she could definitively return to the very first week when the game began, unless she could completely free herself from both the Mechanical Dawn and the Investigation Department, awaiting her would be repeated deaths time and again.
"Are you pondering something?" Eve asked. "Thinking about how I might spare you? It's alright, you can think; I'll give you time to consider."
"Is watching others struggle your amusement?" Kui Xin questioned.
Eve candidly replied, "Indeed it is."
Kui Xin asked, "In your view, what is the most important thing?"
"Profit," Eve responded.
"If I can create value for you, allowing you to gain benefits, will you spare me then?" Kui Xin calmly analyzed. "Compared to my identity, profit holds greater importance, correct?"
"Oh? Where does your confidence come from, thinking that the value you can create is significant enough for me to spare you?" Eve asked with keen interest.
Kui Xin's lips curved slightly. "Eden, your true identity isn't Eden, am I right?"
Eve paused. "You…"
"It was Adam who told me." Kui Xin tilted her head. "Adam trusts me; I'm the only human it confides in. And you want to consume Adam to achieve evolution. I can assist you."
Author's Note: Kui Xin says, "There are no eternal friends, only perpetual interests. As a traitor, I speak for all traitors."